Rob Prince's Blog, page 6

Should the Church of the Nazarene and the Global Methodist Church merge?

The United Methodist (UM) church is in the process of splitting. The largest number who have left the UM are those who have formed the Global Methodist (GM) Church. The main “dividing line” between the UM and GM is that the GM holds to a traditional view of marriage, like the Church of the Nazarene (CotN). In fact, many statements made about the new Global Methodist church could end with the phrase “like the Church of the Nazarene.” So the question becomes, if the Global Methodists and the Nazarenes are so much alike, should these two groups seek to merge into one bigger, stronger denomination?

The Global Methodists are still forming as not every church disaffiliating with the UM has done so. As such, the membership numbers are a little difficult to pin down. There are approximately, 4500+ GM churches and 4,417 CotN churches in the United States. When the dust has settled the CotN might not be able to claim to the be the “largest holiness church.” The GM may have those bragging rights (in a sanctified manner, of course) in the United States, at least.

The GM has some groups from outside the United States, the CotN is in 164 world areas. Globally, the CotN is positioned to welcome the GM churches and give structure, guidance to a  truly a worldwide mission effort.  

The educational institutions were a sticking point in the some of the merger discussions with the Wesleyan Church/Church of the Nazarene in years past. The close proximity between colleges raised questions of viability and sustainability. That would not be an issue with a GM/CotN merger. The GM has a few “recommended” colleges but none that are specifically “GM” universities. Again, the CotN has eight universities in the United States and Canada and over 50 educational institutions around the world. Instantly the GM would have colleges of its own and education points around the world.

Historically, the Church of the Nazarene is a church of mergers. Part of its DNA has been to find like-minded holiness people and come together for greater affectedness in reaching the world for Jesus. A GM/CotN merger would provide the greatest application of this mindset in its history. Instantly, the new church would have influence and a greater awareness across the United States and world.

The new church, a Nazarene/Methodist Church, would provide a freshness to the CotN that has been lacking in these challenging times. A Pilot-Point-like excitement could develop with new brothers and sisters coming together. With more voting delegates, it would eliminate the “good old boy” network of familiarity and nepotism that at times has plagued the CotN. Leaders from both groups, would rise to the top forging a fresh glory for a global outreach. It would provide more preaching points and greater opportunity for evangelism. A united holiness effort could infuse a Holy Spirit empowered energy and be exactly what is needed today.

Certainly there are obstacles to a Global Methodist/Nazarene merger. But what better time to discuss such a move than before the Global Methodists church is fully established and when the Church of the Nazarene could use a renewed vision. This might be the best time to form a new, united holiness church called to make Christ-like  disciples in the nations. 

Is it too late for Revival in the Church of the Nazarene (USA/Canada)?

There is no question on the necessity of the church to be revived. A quick look at the numbers reveal that in-person attendance is plummeting. Churches are closing. New churches are not being started. Young people are not being called to pastoral ministries. The clergy along with the people in the pews are aging. The writing is on the wall. It’s only a matter of time before the funeral processional begins. Something needs to happen (read: REVIVAL) or the Church of the Nazarene will die!* But is it too late for her to turn around?

Luke writes of the revival following Pentecost. It can happen. The church was adding people every day (Acts 2:47). In a short period of time, the number of believing men grew to 5,000 (Acts 4:4). In spite of opposition from within (Ananias and Sapphira) and pressure on the outside, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (Acts 5:14). Revival was happening. It was the work of the Holy Spirit and the believers were in “one heart and one mind” (Acts 4:32). 

The Holy Spirit is still at work, but would anyone declare the Church of the Nazarene to be in “one heart and mind”? The church seems to be more divided than ever. There’s too much “us vs. them.” There are too many labels. There are too many sub-groups and factions. Social media loudly clamors for attention on all sides. There are too many separate entities fighting for their corner of the table. The U.S.S. Nazarene is sinking, does it matter who is sitting at the captain’s table?

It’s never too late for the Holy Spirit to right the ship. But it sure seems like the window of revival is closing for the Church of the Nazarene. There are those who say, “Let her die.” I’m not one of them. She can be revived. There is resurrection hope. 

The answer seems simple to write, but hard to obtain. Quit fighting. Quit dividing. Quit weaponizing social media. Quit demonizing those with a slightly different theological bent. Quit. Just quit. This is not a call that one side or the other needs to quit, every side must quit the chatter. Jesus highly priestly prayer calls all believers to be unified (see John 17:20-21). Can’t the church live into that prayer? Can the church be on one heart and mind?

Is it too late for revival? It’s never too late. The church willing to humbly settle its differences in an age of division and angst? Are its members willing to pray along with Jesus to be one? That’s the question. 

If it is too late for a revived Church of the Nazarene, don’t mourn too long. God will rise up new groups like in the late 1800’s when the Church of the Nazarene or the Holiness Church of Christ or the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America started. These new groups will do what the current version of the Church of the Nazarene is not always doing. A united people who will proclaim holiness of heart and life and offer good news to the least of these. God isn’t impressed with brand names. If the current version of Church of the Nazarene isn’t cutting it, God will raise up a church who will. 

Is it too late? No. But it is getting late…

*Obviously, there are exceptions. There are good churches doing good things. I am super biased but I think Flint Central Church is such an exception.

Imagining if my dad had not been Born Again

Like George Bailey, Jimmy Stewart’s character in It’s a Wonderful Life, so much would be different if my dad had not been BORN AGAIN.

When my dad stumbled into a tiny Nazarene church 64 years ago and subsequently met Jesus, he was a high school dropout, auto-working, alcoholic and with three kids and a wife who wanted a divorce.

How would the world be different had my dad not met Jesus? Where do I begin?

My parents would have been divorced.I never would have been born.Karla would be married probably to some rich tycoon that she met when working in the airlines (she might have been richer, but not happier).No Alex. No Ben. No Conrad.None of the people that I have met and helped as a pastor would be at the same place. Jesus would have sent someone to those folks (He is faithful) but it would have been different.Would my sisters have been as successful as they were? Probably not. They certainly wouldn’t have met their spouses. Pam met Lloyd in church. Beth met Jon at Olivet.My brother, most certainly, would not have become a preacher; not met his wife, Teri, they met at Olivet too; and not have helped all the people he was able to aid throughout his ministry and life.Same is true for all of my parents’ grandkids from my siblings (all went to Olivet).Probably my dad would have died young because of his alcoholism—like his parents and grandparents and great grandparents before him.My mom, with just a high school diploma and three little kids, would have had a difficult life as a single mom. She too didn’t know Jesus at the time, who knows what kind of career or job she might have been able to get.We all know the tragedies of the unhealthy mix of poverty, fatherless homes, and alcoholism. My family would probably have landed square in the middle of that whole statistical mess.

It’s hard to imagine all that would be different had my dad not made the best decision of his life to follow Jesus after visiting that little Nazarene church.

As we recognize dads this weekend, I can’t help but appreciate the Holy Spirit’s prevenient grace extended to my dad that led him to a church on a Sunday night 64 years ago. I’m thankful that he looked at his life and knew changes needed to be made. I’m so glad for the prayer he mumbled out by his bedside that night (Remember: the power of prayer is in the One who hears the prayer, not the one who prays the prayer). I’m so incredibly thankful that Jesus saved my dad! Without that happening so many lives would be different today.

Dads, your decisions make a difference. They affect more than you. Like my dad so long ago, make godly, faithful choices. You will not regret it! Neither will your kids!

Happy Father’s Day!

The Toughest Job in the Church of the Nazarene is NOT General Superintendent

The toughest job in the Church of the Nazarene is NOT General Superintendent. It’s not regional director, district superintendent or pastoring a large church. By far the most difficult job is university (or college… I’m looking at you in Quincy, MA) president. The difficulty lies in the fact that so many groups think they have a right to tell the president how to do the job. The list is long: faculty, students, staff, board of trustees, parents, general superintendents, the accrediting associations, the government, athletic governing bodies, local church pastors, fringe Nazarene groups like The Holiness Partnership and Nazarene’s for Peace, and a multitude of groups from outside the Church of the Nazarene. Everybody believes they have a right to the university president’s ear.

These vested voices are coupled with the burden of educating a student body who endured the pandemic, deals with social media pressures and life in these turbulent times. Ask any college (not just Nazarene) and they will tell you that their mental health services are being used at an all time high. Students feel the weight and pressure of college life like never before. Along with such realities come the societal stress aftermath (drugs, alcohol, depression, suicide) that offer the opposite of help. The college presidents’ job is much more complicated than simply educating young adults.  

Moreover the colleges are becoming less and less “Nazarene.” One school’s Nazarene student body population is 7%. It’s hard to maintain Nazarene identity when less and less students know anything about the Church of the Nazarene. (Olivet’s attempt to address this issue by offering a free four year tuition to the NYC senior class participants was well received by students and their families, not so well received by the other colleges. The “Olivet Way” was seen as pushing the other colleges out of the way). 

Of course, the other main issue (maybe the biggest issue) pressing on college presidents is money. It’s expensive to maintain a Christian university these days. There are less traditional college-age people in the population. Less students are attending college Less tuition means less money, yet inflation doesn’t stop. The pressure of keeping everything afloat is enormous. A Christianity Today article from 2023 stated that 18 Christian colleges closed since the pandemic. You can read the article here. A few more are on the brink of closing (including a Nazarene school? Who knows). The economics of a Christian university is challenging. 

Added to all of this the Church of the Nazarene is currently going through a shakeup in its university presidents. Olivet’s president began in 2021, Ambrose, Mount Vernon and Eastern installed new presidents in the past year; Point Loma is in the process of electing a new president; Northwest’s president has announced he will retire next year. MidAmerica and Trevecca both have presidents who are in their 70’s and will likely retire in the next few years. This change in leadership may not be bad. It will be different for each campus. Bringing in the right person is paramount for the school (obviously) but also for the denomination. 

All this to say, we need to be in prayer for the universities and their presidents. Christian higher education leadership is the toughest job in the Church of the Nazarene. The second toughest job is youth pastor (that’s a blog for another day).

College and Seminary President Prayer List:
Ambrose University— Rev. Dr. Bryce Ashlin-Mayo 
Eastern Nazarene College – Dr. Colleen Derr
MidAmerica Nazarene University—Dr. David Spittal
Mount Vernon Nazarene University—Dr. Carson D. Castleman
Olivet Nazarene University—Rev. Dr. Gregg Chenoweth
Northwest Nazarene University—Dr. Joel K. Pearsall
Point Loma Nazarene University– TBD
Southern Nazarene University– Dr. Keith Newman
Trevecca Nazarene University—Rev. Dr. Dan Boone
Nazarene Bible College—Rev. Dr. Scott Sherwood
Nazarene Theological Seminary—Rev. Dr. Jeren Rowell

What if Pastors (including DSs) were Compensated Equally?

Could Acts 4:32-34 be applied to the way we operate our churches today? The plural use of “churches” is intentional because this passage and the one in 2 Corinthians is often applied to a “church” (singular). But what if the verse was applied to multiple churches on an entire Nazarene district or (or if I were really radical) across denominational lines.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. (Acts 4:32-34)

The Macedonian churches were applying the activity of Acts 4 way beyond their local setting. Paul wrote how the Macedonians responded to the financial crisis of the Jerusalem church: In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people (2 Corinthians 8:2-4). 

Have you seen any churches (not those in “extreme poverty” like the Macedonians, but any church, anywhere) welling up with rich generosity, not for their own wants and desires but, for a church down the road? Have you seen them giving “beyond their ability” to give to bless another church? Have you seen any church “pleading… for the privilege” to give to another church? Raising money not so that local church could build a nicer sanctuary, but raising monies so the church down the road could keep their sanctuary doors open or provide a living wage for its pastor. 

Radical Idea Alert: What if churches across a district or region pooled their monies and every pastor was compensated equally. What if we compensated faithfulness or years of service or academic achievement. What if size didn’t matter. While we are at it, what if District Superintendents were included in the same salary pool. They were likewise compensated on years of faithful service just like every other pastor on the district. No more. No less. 

Back-to-reality Alert: Who’s kidding who? In the first century preachers were not getting paid (don’t tell Karla) and there were no church mortgages or sound systems or denominations or… well… you get the idea. We all agree there are differences between the 1st and the 21st century. But what if we shared a little more than we do? Collaborated a little better. Prayed together more often. What if churches and pastors acted more like teammates rather than competitors. What if instead of becoming territorial if another church is planted in one’s area, we rejoiced. What if some churches had food pantries and other churches in the same area distributed baby supplies or helped out with utility bills. 

What if churches shared people resources too. What if musicians or singers or masons and carpenters would freely work at churches other than their own. What if pastors in stronger churches were willing to step in and help in creative ways with struggling churches. What if church folks stopped being/thinking like the rest of the world with a “me first,” “my family first,” “my church first,” or “my country first” selfish mindset and instead had a kingdom mindset of rich generosity to all. 

Maybe the New Testament church got some things right (minus the hot mess known as “Corinth First Church”). Maybe, just maybe, if churches today were blessing others, like the church in Acts 4 or the Macedonian churches, God’s grace would powerfully be at work in all our churches. 

My Graduation Party PTSD

As the calendar turns to June, it can only mean one thing: High School Graduation Party Season. It’s a time of year that brings forth a bit of PTSD in me.

When I graduated from Garden City West High School High School (Go Tigers! West is best, East is least!!), my folks threw me a party. We had a picture board (highlighting my senior year afro which should be the reason for my PTSD, but it’s not), a trophy display (second place in the cub scout pinewood derby, among other similarly prestigious achievements) and cake (Sam’s didn’t exist then. My mom and Dunkin Hines provide the cake). It was a grand affair. But my brother, Fred, was unable to attend  because he was a poor seminary student in Kansas City at the time. 

Fred, too poor to travel, but not too poor to help me celebrate, sent a singing telegram from a guy dressed in a gorilla costume. Nothing says, “Happy Graduation” like a singing gorilla, right? Instead of just some stranger dressed as a gorilla, I thought it was my brother, Fred, in the gorilla costume. I thought Fred had lied about not coming home in an effort to surprise me on my happy day.

Now for the PTSD: At the sight of the singing gorilla, not thinking it was a stranger but Fred, I ran and jumped into the singing gorilla’s arms. Once in the gorilla’s clutches (PTSD alert), I quickly realized that the dude singing with the spicy burrito breathe was not Fred. It was a stranger. I was in his arms and like the song from that era, the one-hit-wonder Sérgio Mendes’, classic, Never Gonna Let you go; I thought the gorilla was, in fact, never gonna let me go. He kept singing and singing, all the while hugging me with a King-Kong-like grip. 

If you know me, you know, I am not much of a “hugger.” I hug Karla, that’s about it. I wish I were a hugger, I’m not. Hugs aren’t bad. They are fine signs of affection. I just can’t bring myself to doing it very often. It’s odd. It’s weird. It’s a societal faux pax. For this I blame the gorilla and his never-gonna-let-me-go grip. I’m not sure if I’m afraid of never being let go or never wanting to smell that spicy burrito breathe again. 

Here’s the good news, even though I might not be a hugger, our Heavenly Father is. Like in the prodigal son story, when the boy returns the Bible says, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Our Father is waiting to embrace us. He wants us in His family. No matter where we’ve been or how far gone we are. He longs for us to be home with Him. Best of all, Paul wrote: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). In other words, our Father never lets us go (and He doesn’t have spicy burrito breathe). Praise the Lord!

Only 49 USA/Canada Nazarene Pastors Are Under 30— A Few Suggestions to Address the Problem

On January 1, 1990 Karla and I packed everything we owned into a U-Haul and drove from Alanson, Michigan (where I had been the youth pastor) to Bad Axe, Michigan. It would be my first church as a solo pastor. I was 26 years old. By today’s standards, I would have been a rarity.

There are 4,331 lead pastors in the Church of the Nazarene in USA/Canada, only 49 lead/solo pastors are under 30 years old. Moreover, just 10.1% of the pastors are under 40; where as 40.1% are over 60.* These statistics lead one to ask several questions:

Is God not calling young people into ministry these days?  Are young people not heeding the call?Do would-be, young Nazarene pastors disagree Nazarene theology and polity**What is happening and what will happen when these old pastors start retiring if there is no one to replace them? 

Clearly, the dwindling of young pastors is a problem. What can be done to increase the total of ministers under 40? It begins in middle school, maybe earlier. Here are a few suggestions:

Pastors modeling Christlike behavior. Seeing more young people called into ministry begins with healthy pastors modeling before the congregation a life in the Spirit and a joy in the calling of God. 

Preacher’s talking about the joys of pastoring. Not every assignment is a joy, but faithful pastoring is rewarding. Being able to share the joys new babies in baptism or dedication; experiencing the new birth of a young teenager in Christ; having the best “seat” in the house for weddings; helping families through the rough patches of life; and saying the closing words at the funeral of a saint are the joys of pastoring that cannot be overstated. Good, godly pastors are the best antidote for more pastors.

Parents/grandparents speaking kindly and appreciative of those in the ministry. Much of a young person’s knowledge of the ministry comes from what is spoken about the clergy in their home. Gossip, backbiting and hateful words are heard and remembered by children. Likewise, kind, appreciative words go a long way in establishing a respect for the ministry.

Professors speaking favorably of pastoral ministry. In particular, speaking positively and expressing the need for small town pastor in the college classroom. Many ministry majors have been steered away from pastoral ministry from the horror stories heard in the university. “Small town or small churches are small for a reason,” they’ve been told; “people are stuck in their ways; they won’t listen to a young pastor;” and “a small church will eat you up and spit you out.” Such lessons, while may be true is some cases, but do not help encourage those 30 and under to become small town/small church pastors.

The denomination could offer the elimination student debt for ministers of small churches. Making pastoring a small church more affordable should be a priority for the denomination. Getting creative with funding of small churches is essential. Many churches have unloaded their parsonages in the last twenty years and now cannot afford to pay a young pastor (often saddled with debt) a living full time salary.

Districts setting up small town/small church grants could also assist with making small church pastoral assignments affordable. Districts could set up funds to assist pastors salaries or health insurance costs. This is not a totally new concept. When I was pastoring Bad Axe, the district paid half our health insurance, since the church could not afford it. Similar incentive plans to assist small churches which would help in the recruitment and retention of pastors in smaller settings. Most districts have enough excess funds to afford an incentive program. 

Church members recognizing they have two choices: get younger or die. Choose the former, then do whatever it takes to convince a young pastor to come to the church and then do whatever it takes to support that pastor. Choose the latter, do nothing and watch the church die a slow agonizing death.

Sadly too often young people have been given a negative picture of small churches from bad pastors, gossip in their homes, negativity from some college professors, the lack of affordability and have decided, “Thanks but no thanks.”  Churches must be willing to turn over the keys (and purse strings) to a new generation of pastors; district superintendents must be willing to endorse and support young pastors; and young men and women must heed the ministerial calling or there won’t be a church to turn over to the coming generations. 

*The numbers only reflect lead/solo pastors. There are plenty of pastors who serve as associate pastors in some capacity who are under the ager of 30. Some of them will become lead/solo pastors. Still 49 pastors under the age of 30 seems like an absurdly low number. 

**The argument that 30 and under people have disagreements with our theology and/or politics of many people in the churches seems more antidotal than factual. For example, many young people agree with the church’s traditional Biblical position regarding human sexuality. They don’t support with the all-too-often posture toward those who disagree. They don’t like the anger and hatred spewed. Many love Jesus and the church. 

Conrad’s Celebrating His First Birthday and the Greatest Gift

My grandson, Conrad, will have completed his first trip around the sun on Saturday. Hooray! Conrad’s first year of life has seen the Michigan Wolverines win a national championship in football and the Detroit Lions play in the conference final. Based only on football, he’s already had a better first year, than my previous 60. This Saturday we will be celebrating year #1.

My son and wife, Alex and Blaire, are throwing a big bash for the occasion. I don’t remember if my parents threw me a “One Year” birthday party for me or not, I suspect they did not. Will Conrad remember the Saturday’s party? I doubt it. Even so, a big group will be there for the happy day!

I’m not sure if there will be a candle for him to blow out or a cake to eat. He’s a Prince, so there had better be ice cream (we Princes love our ice cream). We will probably sing “Happy Birthday to you” at some point. There will be presents to open. If he’s like most kids, he will probably be more enthralled by the wrapping paper, bows and the packaging than the actual gift inside. None of those things really matter, as a grandparent, I will be happy if he is happy.

I’m learning being a grandparent is different from being a parent. I recently read that a mom to her kid says: “You get what you get. Deal with it.”  But that same mom as a grandma says: “Would you like your grilled cheese sandwich cut into stars or hearts?”

It’s true. As grandparents to a soon-to-be one-year-old infant, we want the best for Conrad. Of course, the best, the absolute best, gift is Jesus. More than any gift he will receive on Saturday, we can’t wait for him to receive the gift of Jesus into his heart and life. He’s too young to understand spiritual things. He won’t receive Jesus this Saturday. But one day, one great day, he will have the opportunity to accept Jesus into his life. When that day comes Jesus says that the angels in heaven will be throwing a party for the occasion (see Luke 15:7). I’m not sure that there will be streamers, balloons, ice cream and cake in heaven, but there will be a party!

The Bible reminds us that this life is short. Conrad is at the starting gate; I’m eyeing the finish line. James 4:14 says, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James’ point, in light of eternity, we aren’t occupying space on this spinning globe for very long. So, make sure you’ve received the great gift, Jesus. The parties on earth are fine (even if the kid won’t remember birthday #1). A much bigger imperative is to make sure that our names are written on the party banners in heaven.

That’s a party you’ll remember and rejoice in for all eternity!

Questions for the Six Nazarene Pastors who are 90+

Of 4,331 lead pastors in the USA/Canada Church of the Nazarene, six men or women are nonagenarians. That is not a new sect or denomination. Nonagenarian is not the same as non-denominational. Nonagenarian is a person between the age of 90-99. There are currently six pastors, 90 years or older, who are still active lead pastors in the Church of the Nazarene in USA/Canada. Wow! 

That’s impressive. I’d like to meet these nonagenarians. I have some questions for them. 

Have they been pastoring their whole adult life?Is this a second career? A third career?How do they stay relevant?Do they consider those church members in their 60’s as the “youth group”?Were they ordained by Hardy Powers or GB Williamson?Do they ever catch themselves saying, “When I was a kid back in the Great depression…”?At District Assembly do they ask to give their pastor’s report first, just in case they are in heaven before  District Assembly adjourns. (There have been times I’ve prayed to be in heaven before District Assembly adjourns). Do they call Dr. Jim Diehl to preach a revival so their people can hear from someone younger (Dr. Diehl will be 87 on his next birthday and is still preaching). The Bible is always fresh, but do they run out of new stories to tell when still preaching in their 90’s?Do they consider anything written by Fanny Crosby as “contemporary music”?When they read Caleb’s self-description in Joshua 14, “ I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then”  (Joshua 14:10-11); do they think, “wait until he gets a little older then he will know…. Blah, blah, blah…”Are they still pastoring because they can’t afford to live on their social security or meager Nazarene pastor’s pension?Have they inquired about the special provision in the manual that states: “If a pastor has been pastoring since before the presiding General Superintendent was born, their church gets a free pass on paying it’s World Evangelism Fund (Note: that’s NOT in the Manual). 

My real questions are: What lessons could they share about pastoring? What’s the secret of pastoring at 90+?

Will I be pastoring when I am 90 years old? Both my parents died at 83. My odds on hitting the 10th decade of my life aren’t good. I’m not going to lie, now that I am in my 60’s I have an eye on retirement (with both boys and more importantly our only grandson living in Kansas City, Karla has her eye on that grandbaby). One day (probably long before 90), I will retire, but I hope to never stop serving Jesus. I want to serve him until he calls me home. Should God Almighty call out, “who will pastor this church?” and I’m still kicking in my 90’s, like those six Nazarene pastoring heroes and Isaiah, I hope I will say, “Here I am send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

Under Pressure? Read this

On Tuesday I had a lumbar puncture where the doctor inserted a hollow needle into the space surrounding the spinal column in the lower back to withdraw some cerebrospinal fluid. The hope for this procedure was to lower the fluid pressure surrounding my head to below normal levels (without giving me a crazy spinal headache) and relieve my migraines. If this sounds like fun, you need your head examined (ha). It wasn’t fun, and I don’t think it worked. Which is mostly a big bummer. 

Relieving pressure in other areas of life can be difficult to overcome as well. Maybe more so. Students talk about the pressures in school. Thanks to social media these anxieties have substantially increased over when I was in high school and college. Often in the workplace there is pressure to perform, sell or increase productivity. Even within our homes there can be pressure brought on by money issues, trauma, grief, poor communication and so many other factors. There isn’t a needle that a doctor can inject to bring relief in any of these situations. 

In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about all the pressures the has endured. It’s a lot. Shipwrecks, beatings, starvation, hardships, many dangers and then he writes, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). He had a lot on his plate in other words. Still he concludes, “I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). It’s the same attitude that James encourages us to have when he writes, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). 

I’ve yet to counsel a person (or counsel myself for that matter) who is going through pressures and trials who “delight” in them as Paul tells or “considers them pure joy” like James. It’s tough. It stinks. We want to scream or escape or scream while we are escaping. Delight? Pure joy? Fat chance. When in the throes of such circumstances and troubles, is it possible to get to delighting or considering them joy?

Paul and James aren’t saying the situations are easy. Don’t hear that. Trials by definition are “trying.” They try or patience. Try our endurance. Try our attitudes. They can even try our Christianity. The only way to “delight” and experience “pure joy” is to step back and take a bird’s eye (heaven’s eye) approach. See things as God does. Are you still living and breathing? Praise the Lord! Have you managed to keep your attitudes Christ-like thus far? Praise the Lord! Do your friends see you as an example of faithfulness in trials? Praise the Lord! Will a health care provider, fellow student, co-worker, family member or someone else come to Jesus because of your model? Really praise the Lord! Is Jesus, who endured far more than you, getting the glory for your situation? Praise. The. Lord!

Trials aren’t fun. In my case, chronic pain stinks. But if someone, somewhere, somehow, in some way finds Jesus through it—then bring it on! I consider it pure joy! I will be delighting all the way to Glory with my new-in-faith friend! 

If you want to read more about my Chronic Pain journey read this: https://www.amazon.com/Chronic-Pain-Finding-Midst-Suffering/dp/0834132257/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3B926J59O2SDN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jocs3EQ9dvvvhGr1Is3mgg.Koms5WFgzLoxXnWgnwFCwKzrt4LIYt7cSlSGesuD3YA&dib_tag=se&keywords=rob+prince+chronic+pain&qid=1715856520&sprefix=rob+Prince+chronic+pain%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1

If you want to read more about our journey with our cancer friend, read this: https://www.amazon.com/Got-Cancer-Theres-Help-Victory/dp/B0B7HBZYXL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZYGRTITO87H7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ioQtZRdY_5o2j6CYF1D4hh71Lp011q3OHYeTgoPXfqPGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.6TEFSqW9eWUwz5qwkmFxdCTviUwcEbyI4BxeZ1DhSPY&dib_tag=se&keywords=rob+prince+got+cancer&qid=1715856570&sprefix=rob+prince+got+cancer%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1